Wild Macadamia Conservation
This project seeks to investigate which fungal groups are associated with the roots of M. tetraphylla. Mollie will use eDNA techniques to look at the M. tetraphylla root mycobiome – that is, the fungal community that lives within plant roots. This includes mycorrhizal fungi that can grow around and inside roots and even into the …
This project brings together specialists in entomology, macadamia pollination, bee behaviour, neuromorphic systems and machine learning from Western Sydney University to use neuromorphic machine learning to search satellite imagery for undiscovered wild populations of M. tetraphylla, the species that has lost the most habitat through clearing. Selected sites will then be monitored for pest and …
Three Macadamia species are now listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Macadamia integrifolia, native to south-east QLD, is listed as “vulnerable” while M. ternifolia, native to QLD, and M. tetraphylla, from northern NSW, are in the more threatened category of “endangered”. Global interest in the story has been sparked by a feature …
